Lord knows I have tried to be patient with Kanye West as it’s becoming ever so clear that he can’t play spades at most peoples’ tables given he’s not working with a full deck. Still, we as a people – of any color and every persuasion – have got to find a tricked out trap door for this wayward Negro to fall through. Kanye may be arguably a creative genius, but that doesn’t make his increasingly asinine statements any less annoying.

Kanye West is dipped in megalomania, baked in delusion & frosted with f**k s**t. I’m so sick of some people – i.e. his most ardent fans – pretending otherwise. Kanye has morphed from what initially appeared to be a thoughtful, charismatic rapper who could mix catchy songs with meaningful commentary and take it mainstream into something reminiscent of the average Internet troll. The sort of person willing to say whatever “controversial” statement he can conceive without any real thought of its accuracy or whether or not it contradicts whatever musing is made after it.

It’s okay to think highly of yourself, and it’s equally fine to share that admiration for your significant other, but Kanye West ought to be arrested for public masturbation following his appearance on KIIS FM’s On Air with Ryan Seacrest. I don’t know why walking ego trip believes he and Kim are “the most influential with clothing,” but I do know anyone, much less a Black man, who would denigrate one of the most visible Black women in the world to a swimsuit Instagram challenge might need to down a bleach cocktail should he not find the missing piece in his brain that’s clouding his judgment.

Kanye didn’t have to single out Michelle Obama. He could’ve easily argued that as the person largely responsible for the integration of celebrities into Vogue magazine, Anna Wintour ought to recognize that the notion of celebrity has evolved, and thus should perhaps reconsider her anti-Kardashian stance. But he didn’t and willingly targeted FLOTUS, which may make Kim smile, but doesn’t do much for his half-Black daughter who benefits from all that Michelle Obama represents to the world.

I don’t begrudge Kim Kardashian in any way, but her style as described by a friend is an “upscale Bebe” or “Bebe couture.” Anna Wintour may not love it, or her brand of celebrity, but such is her prerogative, so pretty please, Yezzus, spare the world with your whining over KimYe being victims of classism.

Especially when you make statements like: “People used to be, ‘What is [Kim] talented at?’ She’s talented at being beautiful! Like, if you go to a club, and you see a bunch of beautiful girls, you might say, ‘It’s a bunch of talent.’”

So Kim Kardashian is a victim of classism despite the conveniently forgotten fact that much of her “talent” over the years has been styled by a cosmetic surgeon. You don’t know struggle if you’re talking about elective surgery. Shut up.

Same goes for that BBC interview in which he found a way to compare his mother participating in sit-ins to advance Civil Rights with he and Frank Ocean “sitting out” of the radio. Again, shut up.

I wouldn’t mind Kanye’s superficial, faux-deep, shallow statements so much if he didn’t fashion himself to be some sort of person standing up against racism. After all, he’s the one who said in a New York Times profile, “I am in the lineage of Gil Scott-Heron, great activist-type artists. But I’m also in the lineage of a Miles Davis – you know, that liked nice things also.”

Would Gil Scott-Heron use lynching imagery and “Strange Fruit” to make a song about a side chick getting an abortion?

Would anyone really that committed to the cause of advancing Black people downplay the influence of the first Black First Lady to boost up his white fiancé who hasn’t given anything to the world besides a modern take on Betty Boop?

His Jekyll and Hyde act can be amusing at times, but ultimately it’s worn thin.

Michael Arceneaux is from the land of Beyoncé, but now lives in the city of Master Splinters. Follow him at @youngsinick.

Maybe if the media would stop following him around and reporting every single thing he does he would be relegated to being insignificant. However, people take a malicious delight in attacking him. You media people should realize that Kanye has issues like a lot of Black celebrities living under the constant pressures of White supremacy. Kanye seem to be hated because he speaks his mind without the filters that a lot of Black people do. He is hated I suppose because he said George Bush hates Black people and he grabbed a mike from a White woman? oooh a Black man should always bow and kiss a white woman’s behind even if when he stands up for a Black woman whom he feels deserved an award over a little known, unrecognized white woman? Well, he already did… he is kissing Kim’s white behind to make up for that slip up. Clutch should recognize here that Kanye may have been brash to go on that stage and grab that mike, but let’s be clear about what he was doing. He was defending and standing up for a Black woman whom he thought had been passed over. How many Black men ever stand up publicly for Black women? Think about that for a moment.
Stop reporting and responding and asking him for interviews if you media types do not wish to hear what he has to say. He is full of his own self importance, unlike a lot of Black people who have bought into self hate and think White people’s lives are more important than Black people. Black people seem to be reacting to Kanye out of the “politics of respectability” because they think he is embarrassing Black people with his outspoken reactions and that is a constant problem with Black people trying to gain recognition from White people and fit into some kind of “permissible” box.

Rachel

You are willfully choosing one instance out of many. The author clearly states that Kanye has devolved into the troll he is today.

Oh, please. Beyonce is oppressed now? Really? I think she’s won many awards, hasn’t she? And, all Taylor Swift did was accept an award – she didn’t award it to herself. Why would he embarrass himself in that way? No, class.

Susie

Angela,
What cha smoking girl. That response was rambling and off topic. I understand what you were trying to express (I’m a little random and off topic my damn self), but I don’t think many Black people are embarrassed by Kanye because he doesn’t represent Blackness. Defending Beyoncé is not about standing up for Black women, that was about getting publicity by being outrageous. Attacking Kanye? Naw just exposing a self-hating fool.

Joan

Kanye is a lost puppy, plain and simple. He says and does things to get attention, whether the attention is positive or negative. The only reason he’s able to eat is because we keep on feeding him.